2024 Cutters Cop 70+ League Championship with 16-2 Record in John A. DeBenedictis Baseball League
John A. DeBenedictis Baseball League, 70+ Division
Cutters 6, MBI 3 (Final game October 9, 2024)
Submitted by Bill Beirne, Cutter’s manager
The Cutters had a very successful JADBL season having the league’s best record at 16-2. Games were played on Wednesday mornings starting in May and lasted until October 9th.
The Cutters 21-player roster included: Mike Missanelli, Vince Panico, Bill Beirne, Tim Beirne, Ed Constantini, Ray Dudonis, Jack Bradley, Tom Pepe, Bill Bowden, George Hadfield, Steve Toler, Joe Williamson, Dave Wilson, Steve Burman, Izzy Menna, Tim Barnes, Jamie Heldring, Bruce Kelly, Gary Prugh, and Jim DeCorso.
This was truly a team effort, as many players played multiple positions and our hitting was solid throughout the line-up. There were no easy outs in the line-up. We also played very solid team defense playing many games without any errors which is hard at any level let alone a 70+ group.
Our pitching was led by Tom Pepe, our staff ace, who started well over 50% of the games and threw several complete games. Tom was backed by other pitchers who threw well also: Izzy Menna, Jim DeCorso, Jack Bradley, George Hadfield, Ed Constantini, Ray Dudonis, and Vince Panico.
Our catching group was led by Tim Beirne but also included Jim DeCorso, Izzy Menna, and Ed Constantini.
Our solid infield play included Izzy Menna, Jim DeCorso, Joe Williamson, Jamie Heldring, Jack Bradley, Ray Dudonis, Mike Missanelli, and Tom Pepe.
Our outfielders were led by Bill Bowden and Bruce Kelly who led the outfield in innings played. Fellow outfielders included Jack Bradley, Tom Pepe, Steve Burman, Gary Prugh, Jamie Heldring, and Ray Dudonis.
It is obvious that this was a true team effort, just by looking at the variety of positions that people played. There were a number of games where we only had nine players, so everyone had to be flexible and try to be as versatile as possible and play several positions in one game.
We look forward to another successful season in 2025 where perhaps in the third year of this league we will have an actual playoff. But in any event, we look towards getting out on the field with teammates and enjoying this great game.